Free Blogger Backgrounds

Being the design-loving blogger that I am, I was so excited to discover a new range of free backgrounds for blogger offered by The Cutest Blog on the Block.  I visit their site probably once or twice a year but have rarely found backgrounds that suit my taste.  This time around I hit the jackpot!  Here are a couple of my favorites from the selection.

2 1/2

Ava had her 2 1/2 year appointment with the doctor on Wednesday and is doing well.  Thankfully her lungs are sounding much better and her cold has subsided.  Ava's height and weight came in at 36 in (60something%) and 35 lbs (99%), confirming the rolly polly stage we thought she was in!  At her last visit the percentiles were switched and even though she's growing 'thick' as the doctor put it, thankfully he didn't seem concerned.  He is happy with her healthy diet and said it could be due to her quiet nature and the amount of exercise she is getting compared to her 2 1/2 year old counterparts.

That was all I needed to hear to spur me on towards plans for an active winter.  I already have been researching all the indoor toddler activities in our area, both for exercise sake, my own sanity and to thoroughly enjoy this time as a mother of one.  This week already we've gone swimming and to a toddler play time offered by the YMCA and it's been wonderful!  I have to encourage this little snuggling wall flower to dance when the music plays and run when there's a place to do so, but she loves using up energy once she gets going.

Despite her tendency to be the least rambunctious kid in the room, Ava is extremely social, loves to talk and makes friends everywhere she goes.  This summer we made the switch to a new church and with that decided to do whatever it took to get Ava to stay in Sunday School for the whole service.  After she and I both left bawling the first Sunday we tried (she was terrified and I'm hormonal), I thought this effort might take months.  But, the next Sunday she stayed for about twenty minutes, crying the whole time but at least staying in there alone, and last week she successfully stayed in her class for the whole service!  This was a HUGE victory for us as 1) Blair and I have never sat through a whole church service alone since we had Ava and 2) Ava has been incredibly clingy and adamantly opposed to being left apart from us since I got pregnant.  This gives me a lot of hope for the months to come.  The best part was watching her wave goodbye to all her new friends when we left and walk the halls like a 5th grader who owned the place.  Confidence is priceless!

Lastly, these recent months have been unfortunately marked by Ava's disobedience and unforeseen entrance into the terrible part of the twos.  It is a huge challenge for me but I keep the perspective that the learning during this time is crucial for both of us and in many ways developmentally exciting.  Though the process is exhausting, I relish the opportunity to shape and grow her little stubborn will and guide her in the way she should go.  Now that I am feeling a little bit better into the second trimester, I feel more capable of handling the immense amount of energy that she requires every day!  Ava's sleeping habits have continued to falter since the onset of my pregnancy and she is often sleeping from about 8:30 or 9pm until only 6 or 6:30am and then taking a short nap in the afternoon, sometimes for only 45 minutes or less.  This is leaving her (and me) exhausted and truly unable to control herself at times.  I'm praying that all of these issues will begin to work themselves out soon!

Despite all the challenges, 2 1/2 is also proving to be a really fun age and I love watching this little girl grow and learn.  She is so smart and thoughtful and quirky, I can only sit on the edge of my chair, waiting to see what she'll do next and what each new month will bring!

Little Monkey

I can't help but share this adorable moment.  A couple of nights ago Ava brought this ladle in the bathtub and after a few minutes I hear her giggle and then burst into roaring laughter.  I look over and she's just losing it, looking at her own reflection in the ladle and spurts out between laughs, "Look mom!  I'm a monkey!"

Joy.

Ava's Journal

The last few days Ava has taken to a new delight--writing letters and words and stories on lined paper.  With a ball point pen.  Like a six year old.


In the mornings she has picked up on my quiet time, where I sit at the table with my coffee and my Bible and journal.  She has adopted the Bible I had when I was a child, and a few days ago asked if she could have a journal too.  Since then she writes everything she can think of and then runs to show me what she's done.  The markings she makes are really quite adorable, a stark contrast to the long lines and circles that used to frequent her pages.  She notates these little tiny "letters" and whenever she is remotely close to the triangle of an "A" or the lines of an "F" she squeals in excitement and pride at what she's done.

I love watching my baby girl lie on her belly with her brow furrowed and her lips pursed off to the side in concentration.  As I sit here eating chocolate cake in the middle of the day (the baby needs it) and prepare for life with an infant again, I can't believe how much my just-barely-toddler is now becoming a little girl.

Breath

Ava is currently in the middle of her third cold since this "season" has begun (a depressing fact since it's hardly fall yet).  Last winter she was sick almost constantly from September to May and though I had high hopes that this year might turn out better for us, it's not looking that way.

Yesterday, Ava's cold took a turn for the worst and we had to make an evening trip to the doctor's office.  We've had our fair share of fevers, coughs and sniffles but yesterday's nap time brought on a whole new enemy.  Ava woke from her nap twice, kicking, screaming, speech slurred, and not quite awake--very night terror style which we've dealt with a couple times before.  The second time however she was wheezing very badly and I decided to try and wake her and assess how she was really doing.  Once she calmed down and sat with me for some cartoons, it was clear she was having trouble breathing.  She would try and talk to me and could barely get words out through her strained breath, and her normally silent breathing was replaced by a loud, raspy sound that was not music to this mommy's ears.  I decided to call the doctor and they had me bring her in.  Over the course of an hour her breathing did quiet slightly as her chest cleared a little bit, but she was still wheezing noticeably with every breath and the doctor heard some unwanted movement in her lungs.

Thankfully, Ava's oxygen level was normal and a chest x-ray ruled out pneumonia.  She screamed through a nebulizer treatment in the doctor's office (the fishy mask she got to take home as a souvenir, pictured above) and was prescribed a steroid and an Albuterol inhaler. The doctor said to keep an eye on her--this could be a one time occurrence or could be the start of some asthma brewing.  As a long-time asthma sufferer I really hope that is not the case for her!

Let me add a side-note.  The x-ray adventure really was a sight to behold and Ava did such a great job.  She talked to and entertained everyone we met, was so excited to get her "picture" taken, and really hammed it up for the camera.  She stood still, smiled big, couldn't hold in a deep breath but kept her arms up and feet in place and loved the special skirt she got to wear that matched Daddy's x-ray blocking dress.  Afterwards she was a little disappointed when she saw the pictures that had been taken and didn't quite understand what she as looking at, but when she received a sticker with a dinosaur skeleton on it (to go along with the 5 Dora stickers she got from the sweet nebulizer-giving nurse), she was content.

Ava really was a champ, left the office with her very first lollipop and though she has yet to complete a whole 6-breath inhaler treatment, she's on the mend.

Two and a half

We've had a shortage of pictures this summer since I've been feeling so lousy (and we've done very few things worth capturing on film) so I took a few today to document the growing girl.  In a couple days she will be 2 1/2 and boy is she as cute as ever!

I Got Jesus in my Heart

The sweet girl with her favorite boy-- baby Brayden

As previously mentioned, Ava has had a hard time with my pregnancy so far and has developed an unwavering need for her mommy.  One way that this manifests itself is during sleep times.  Ava has not only continued to get out of her bed at night but has begun waking mid-nap and crying out for me, "I need my mommy!" and crying for snuggles, milk, a blanket, anything that might get me to come into the room.

Without wanting to delve deep into my parenting style, I will say this.  Since Ava was a baby I have erred on the side of crying-it-out, for many reasons, and have stuck to that ideology because even for a toddler I believe that action and consistency speak volumes.  Now, in this case, with two-year-old emotions flaring and flexing, some compromises have had to be made.  But overall I've tried to keep with my instincts and not start Ava on a habit of crying for mommy many times a night or nap.

With that in mind, after a few conversations that went nowhere, trying to explain to Ava why it is better for her to sleep by herself or why she needs to go back to sleep without me, the Holy Spirit nudged me with a great realization.  This is a perfect opportunity to talk about her relationship with Jesus--not just the story of baby Jesus but the role that he plays in our lives.

The first night I decided to go into her room and I sang her a new song:

...I've got the love of Jesus love of Jesus
Down in my heart
Down in my heart to stay
...And I'm so happy, so very happy
I've got the love of Jesus in my heart!

I explained that Jesus lived in her heart, and in my heart, and that whenever she felt lonely or sad or afraid, she could tell Jesus and he would hear her.  I told her that sometimes she might miss mommy and daddy when we're not there but that Jesus will always be with her.  Watching her eyes light up, she responded, "Yeah!  That's a good idea mommy!  Baby Jesus lives right here in my heart!"  I melted.  She was smitten.

Since then we've had some more rocky sleep and awake times, but they have been great opportunities for me to introduce her more and more to Jesus.  What a sweet job that is.  With the onset of some pretty ugly, defiant behavior we've been able to talk about how God tells us to obey our parents and how it makes God feel when she disobeys.

A few nights ago, Blair and I were both awake as Ava cried and cried for me from about 1-4:30am.  I went in a number of times but short of sticking her back in the womb there was no giving her enough comfort to calm her.  At one point I reminded her that though mommy had to go back to her room, Jesus would be with her and she could pray to him if she was sad.  I left and within minutes she was crying for me to return.  Blair and I listened for awhile, Ava finally calmed down a little and then we heard her yell loudly and happily, "Mommy!  I told Jesus I'm sad!"  We giggled in bed.  I can't tell you what work and yet what a joy this time is!

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

"Be joyful always; 

pray continually; 

give thanks in all circumstances, 

for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."